Comics Giant Marvel announced over the weekend that it would take a “new approach” to the Israeli superhero Sabra after coming under fire from anti-Israel pundits and social media warriors, who opposed the inclusion of a proud Israeli superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe.
As was initially reported by HonestReporting last week, Marvel announced at the Walt Disney D23 Expo that the much-anticipated fourth installment of the Captain America movie series, titled Captain America: New World Order, will feature Israeli actress Shira Haas in the role of Sabra, an Israeli superhero who first appeared in the pages of The Incredible Hulk in 1980.
Haas, the first Israeli to ever be nominated for an Emmy Award, is known both in Israel and around the world for her roles in the Netflix series Shtisel and Unorthodox.
In the Marvel comics, Sabra is the alias for Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli mutant who serves as a member of the Israeli Police and also secretly works for the Mossad, Israel’s famed spy agency.
Usually adorned in an outfit boasting a Star of David, Sabra’s superpowers include superhuman strength, agility, stamina, and the ability to revive people by transferring her life energy to them.
Over the past 40 years, Sabra has fought against the Hulk — who she originally suspected of cooperating with Arab terrorists — and Captain Britain, while teaming up with both the X-Men and Spiderman.
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Soon after Marvel’s announcement, both the entertainment industry and the world of Israel-related journalism were buzzing with the news that the next installment of the Captain America franchise would not only feature Marvel’s first Israel-born superhero, but that the role would be portrayed by a famous Israeli actress.
Initially, Marvel’s announcement was only picked up by Israeli media outlets and news sites devoted to entertainment, comics and celebrities
Some sites, such as Variety, Screen Crush, and Deadline, published neutral accounts of Marvel’s announcement, while the entertainment news site Wiki of Nerds gave a fairly positive appraisal, writing that “While we do not yet know how Sabra will be involved in Captain America: New World Order, she will definitely be a great addition.”
Meanwhile, a noteworthy critique of Marvel’s announcement was made by Benny Stein in an article he wrote for entertainment site The Direct. After citing Marvel fans who are opposed to the inclusion of Sabra in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stein claimed that “Sabra has an extremely troubling history. Past depictions of the character show clear biases that distort the issue in favor of racist and arbitrary attitudes…”
Further on, Stein quips that “Sabra’s ties to the Israeli government in the comics effectively sanction a whole host of grim behaviors.”
Near the end of his piece, he comments “Additionally, this kind of representation is also complicated for those who share Sabra’s Jewish identity. Inherently linking perhaps the most prominent example of Judaism within the MCU…to the Israeli government may solidify beliefs about Judaism and Zionism that have proven hard to disentangle.”
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A few days after both Israeli and entertainment news picked up the story, mainstream media outlets around the world also started focusing on the addition of Sabra to the MCU.
Rather than focusing on the diversity that both Sabra and Shira Haas will bring to Marvel, both CNN and The Independent concentrated on the negative reaction from some anti-Israel commentators.
In both pieces, the writers focus on the claim that the inclusion of Sabra (who fights for Israel’s existence against external enemies) might lead to negative stereotyping of Arabs and Palestinians.
In addition, CNN cited an analyst who claimed that the addition of Sabra is “disgraceful” while The Independent called it “a provocative move.”
The Independent even went so far as to write that “If Marvel wanted to be truly politically balanced, they would tell the story of a Palestinian superhero protecting Arab children from Israeli rockets hitting a Palestinian school or hospital alongside the heroic narratives of Sabra. Of course, the idea seems far-fetched. Away from fiction, any Palestinians trying to defend themselves, even non-violently, are often labeled terrorists.”
New York Times tweets expose anti Jewish bias:
2013- celebrates Marvel’s “newest superhero is a…teenage Muslim girl…”
2017- “Marvel Comics may have slump in sales. But don’t blame its diverse heroes.”
2022- Marvel plans to bring Israeli hero to the screen “at its peril.” pic.twitter.com/YUghjoxirY
— Faith Quintero (@FaithQuintero7) September 18, 2022
Both pieces also cited the claim that the timing of Marvel’s announcement was insensitive since it fell in the same week as the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, even though Sabra has no relation at all to the massacre.
The Sabra character was introduced by Marvel two years before the massacre and she is named for the prickly fruit that has come to symbolize native-born Israelis since the Jewish state’s founding.
In an age when the entertainment industry is trying to be more representative of diverse identities, it is a shame that the media has focused on the negative response to Marvel’s announcement instead of celebrating the diversity that a proud Israeli character will bring to the big screen.
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Unsurprisingly, social media was also divided on the inclusion of an Israeli superhero in the Marvel universe.
Marvel’s announcement was warmly received by pro-Israel voices on Twitter (see here, here, and here), with one post even quipping that “Sabra’s powers include super-strength, speed agility, and if I had to guess, the ability to make excellent hummus.”
On the lighter side of Israeli criticism, the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz snarkily tweeted “Just to dispel rumors, the character’s name will not be Captain Occupation” while later clarifying that “Haaretz’s Twitter account is genuinely happy for Shira Haas and wishes her mazel tov for her role as Sabra.”
For anti-Israel Twitter users, the news was most unwelcome, with the anti-Israel publication Mondoweiss tweeting “No. No no no no. No” while the Palestine Online account queried “What do you think her superpowers are? Massacring Palestinians or destroying their homes leaving them homeless?”
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Will Sabra Get the Wonder Woman Treatment?
While Sabra is the first Israeli-born superhero to appear on the big screen, Shira Haas is not the first Israeli actress to portray a superhero. That achievement, of course, belongs to Gal Gadot, who portrayed Wonder Woman in a number of blockbuster DC films, including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman 1984.
However, Gadot’s portrayal of the Amazon princess was not without controversy.
Upon the release of Wonder Woman in 2017, a number of Arab countries (including Lebanon, Tunisia, Kuwait, and Qatar) banned the film due to its star being an Israeli citizen.
While some analysts have opined that Wonder Woman was banned due to Gadot’s being a veteran of the IDF and her vocal support of both Israel and the Israeli army, one of the members of the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon (which spearheaded the push against the movie) claimed that the boycott was due to Gadot being Israeli and “We don’t distinguish between a good Israeli and a bad Israeli.”
Notably, Wonder Woman’s 2020 sequel Wonder Woman 1984 did not garner the same opposition as the original movie, but Gadot’s 2022 appearance in Death on the Nile did lead to it being banned in both Lebanon and Kuwait.
So, will Sabra face the same boycott efforts as Wonder Woman did?
While it might be too early to tell, it is not hard to believe that a film starring an Israeli actress portraying an Israeli superhero who proudly works on behalf of the Jewish state will garner some pushback, particularly in countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Will the Hulk Get Angry?: Mark Ruffalo & His Animosity Towards Israel
Since Marvel’s announcement, many on social media have questioned what Mark Ruffalo’s response will be to the inclusion of Sabra in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (see here, here, and here).
Ruffalo, who has portrayed the Hulk in the MCU since 2012, has a history of anti-Israel activism, including claiming that Israel is practicing “apartheid” and vocally supporting Palestinian organizations that Israel has deemed to have terrorist connections.
During the 2021 war between Israel and Hamas, Ruffalo claimed that the Jewish state was committing “genocide” in Gaza, although he later apologized for this.
With the addition of Sabra to the MCU, will Mark Ruffalo openly welcome Shira Haas? Or will the Hulk smash all efforts at dialogue and teamwork? Only time will tell…
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While it is still unclear what Sabra’s role will be in the next Captain America film, which is not set to hit theaters until 2024, or whether she will appear in other Marvel movies, it is encouraging to see such a large movie franchise welcome the first Israel-born superhero — along with an Israeli actress — into their ranks.
Hopefully, Marvel’s “new approach” to Sabra will embrace this character diversity and will not drastically transform the character in order to appease the loud voices of anti-Israeli pundits and keyboard warriors.
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Featured Image: Photo by Jacopo Raule via Getty Images
